Southwell will be closed for at least a month as repairs are carried out to damage caused by recent flooding at the Nottinghamshire venue.

The track was forced to close for a number of months five years ago due to severe floods and the water level is reported to have hit similar heights in the last few days.

Water rose to as much as seven to nine inches inside some of the buildings, while the surfaces around the racecourse buildings and part of the track remain under water.

Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan said: "We had just short of 50 millimetres of rain on Saturday and going into Sunday and we've had a further 10 or more since.

"This added to the high water levels alongside the River Trent which was almost at the top of its banks has caused widespread flooding in the area. Unfortunately we had to abandon Monday and Tuesday's fixtures but transferred Wednesday to Wolverhampton.

"We have on-going talks with the Environment Agency and Trent Valley Drainage Board to improve this situation in the future."

Southwell's December fixtures have now been transferred to the fellow ARC-owned tracks of Wolverhampton and Lingfield while the jumps fixture scheduled for December 4 will be offered to other courses through the British Horseracing Authority. If there are no takers, the meeting will be held at Lingfield.

Wolverhampton will race both afternoon and evening on Saturday, December 15 to accommodate the Southwell transfer.

Officials hope to resume racing in January with the drying out and repair process already in progress.